Scars

Dewey and Violet stood in the hallway outside the infirmary. Teddy and Kai were inside, with Madam Pomfrey and Professors Longbottom, Slughorn, and Llewellyn.

In moments, the dungeon corridor where Teddy and Kai lay bleeding had turned into a scramble of frantic activity. Slughorn had already conjured bandages for Teddy's wounds and poured half of a potion down his throat. He'd handed the vial to Violet and told her to make Kai drink the rest. She had had to push against Kai to make him roll over so she could pour it into his mouth, but between his groans of pain, and the coughing and gagging and horrible faces he made when he swallowed Slughorn's potion, Violet thought he was less severely wounded than Teddy.

Then the Headmistress and all the other house heads, along with Professor Rai and Coach Mannock, had come rushing down the stairs. In the ensuing chaos, Dewey and Violet were almost forgotten, once it was determined that they weren't injured.

Now all students had been sent back to their houses. The staff was patrolling the hallways, and Dewey supposed that was meant to be reassuring, though it seemed to him that as Slipfang had already come and gone and they still didn't know how, it was rather useless to be making a big show of doing something now.

Only Dewey and Violet were out of their rooms. They'd followed the teachers who carried Teddy and Kai up to the Hospital Wing. Professor Rai, Professor Peasegood, and Coach Mannock had all ordered the two in passing to return to their houses, but Dewey and Violet had ignored them, and so far no one had bothered to take notice of their continued presence in the hallway.

Teddy had been limp and pale as a ghost when he was taken into the infirmary. They couldn't see Kai's injury, except for a bloody red mark across his face, but his robes and shirt had been torn open by whatever spell had knocked him halfway down the corridor.

The two of them said little as they waited. Dewey leaned against the wall, with his arms folded across his chest. Violet just stood there next to him, feeling helpless. She stared bleakly at the opposite wall. One hand was tucked into a pocket, where she was holding Kai's broken glasses frames. Her fingertips brushed against the broken lens pieces that she'd carefully gathered up, before following the teachers upstairs. There must have been a hundred bits of shattered glass, but she'd collected every fragment.

“They'll be all right,” Dewey murmured. “Madam Pomfrey is a really good healer. And between her and Professor Longbottom and Professor Slughorn, they wouldn't get better care anywhere outside of St. Mungo's.”

“They should be Apparated there,” Violet said.

“I think Side-Along Apparition can be rough on the injured. If Madam Pomfrey thinks that's necessary, they will be.” Dewey was worried, but he wanted to convince Violet that their friends would be all right, because maybe then he could convince himself.

Violet didn't say anything to that, so Dewey resumed staring at the floor while Violet kept staring at the wall. Then, Violet said quietly, “I ran.”

Dewey blinked. “What?”

“I ran,” she repeated. “Kai and Teddy were both hurt, you were facing Slipfang all by yourself, and I ran away.”

He blinked again, then turned his head to stare at her.

“You ran to get help!” he said.

Violet couldn't even look in his direction. “I followed Kai, because I was angry at him for being such a prat. Expecting me to run away just because I'm a girl.” She sneered. “I wanted to prove I could face danger just as well as he could. And what did I prove? I was completely bloody useless!” Her lower lip trembled. It was only the second time Dewey had seen her close to tears.

“Violet!” he said sharply, and she stopped talking and finally looked at him.

“In case you didn't notice, none of us exactly covered ourselves in glory,” he said. He grimaced as he rubbed the back of his head, where he now had a sizable lump. “What we did was stupid! You were the only one who did anything halfway intelligent.”

She turned her head away again, and stared at the wall so intently that Dewey thought she was going to burn holes in it with her gaze.

“They'll be all right,” Dewey repeated softly, trying to reassure himself as much as her.

Then Professor Longbottom emerged from the infirmary, and Violet's face immediately went rigid again. Longbottom paused when he saw Dewey and Violet waiting outside.

“Weren't you told to return to your houses?” he asked.

“Yes, Professor,” the two of them answered together. Neither of them moved.

He frowned at them for a moment, and then sighed.

“They're both going to be all right,” he said. “We're not sure what sort of spell Mr. Chang was hit with, but his injuries aren't life-threatening. The main concern is whether it will leave a permanent scar. As for Ted — Mr. Lupin, he lost a lot of blood, and that stab wound was nearly fatal.” Dewey and Violet both blanched. “But,” Longbottom continued reassuringly, “thanks to Professor Slughorn's quick thinking, and our efforts now, he's going to live.”

Dewey and Violet both nodded. Dewey almost felt weak at the knees, and Violet looked just as relieved, trembling slightly and obviously using all of her self-control to maintain her stoic expression.

Longbottom gave the two first-years a look that almost betrayed a hint of amusement. “I don't think either of them will be running around the castle getting into mischief soon, though. Now, as I am going downstairs anyway, I will escort you down and see that you go to your respective common rooms.”

“Please, Professor,” Violet said in a small voice, “can't we see them?”

Longbottom's expression softened slightly, but he shook his head. “They both need rest, not to be reliving your exploits. Speaking of which, don't think for a second that any of you are going to escape punishment.”

Dewey and Violet preceded Professor Longbottom down the stairs. When they reached the Entrance Hall, there was another figure standing there.

“Harry!” said Professor Longbottom, and walked over to exchange a quick embrace with the man now unwinding a scarf from around his neck.

“Neville.” Harry Potter smiled wanly at his old friend. “How is he?”

“Very weak, but Madam Pomfrey says he'll recover,” said Longbottom. “Do you want to see him first, or talk to Professor Llewellyn?”

“I promised his grandmother I'd check on Teddy first thing.” Then Potter noticed the two children standing there. He gave them a small smile. “Hello, Violet.”

Violet nodded to him. “Hello, Mr. Potter.” It didn't seem right to call him “Harry” under the circumstances.

Potter looked at Dewey. “Dewey Diggory, right?” He extended a hand. “I guess we've never met properly.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir,” said Dewey, taking the man's hand. “We're really sorry about Teddy.” He looked down.

Potter nodded. “Don't go blaming yourselves. No one put Teddy up to anything; I understand it's rather the reverse.” His face grew a little pale. “Is any of that your blood?” he asked.

Dewey had completely forgotten about his blood-stained clothing. Teddy had bled all over him, and now he looked as if he'd been butchering something.

“No, sir,” he said quietly. “It's all Teddy's.”

“You both need to return to your rooms, now,” said Professor Longbottom. “Don't let me catch you out of them again tonight.”

“Yes, Professor,” Dewey and Violet murmured together, and they both headed downstairs to their common rooms.

Kai and Teddy had adjacent beds, but Madam Pomfrey had put a curtain up between them while she was tending to Teddy. Kai had lain there quietly, listening anxiously to Llewellyn, Pomfrey, Longbottom, and Slughorn as they talked about how badly Teddy was bleeding and how deeply he'd been stabbed, and whether or not any organs had been pierced, and whether they could replenish his blood fast enough to keep him from bleeding to death.

His own wound was painful, but Teddy's condition made it easy to ignore, at least for a while. Once the voices of the professors became calmer and it sounded as if Teddy was going to survive, Kai stopped worrying about him quite so much, and that's when his own pain became almost unbearable.

Other than Slughorn's potion, Kai had received very little treatment. Pomfrey had glanced at him briefly, and Longbottom had waved a wand over him, and apparently determined that he wasn't going to die.

“I'm sorry,” the Head of Gryffindor said to him softly. “I know this hurts. We'll get to you as quickly as we can, but Teddy's condition is more serious.”

Kai had only gasped and nodded. Now he was biting his lip and trying to hold back tears. Merlin, but it hurt, a lot! From his right thigh, across his torso to his left shoulder, and up the left side of his face, it burned like fire.

Finally, Madam Pomfrey came to his side, and deftly began stripping off his robe and his outer clothing. Kai was embarrassed, despite the pain, but Pomfrey was brisk and businesslike, and clearly not in any mood to worry about the modesty of eleven year-old boys. She waved her wand over him, and then began rubbing some sort of oil into his wound, all the way up his body. Her touch hurt at first, and it was all Kai could do not to flinch away from her, but then the oil began to dull the raw nerves where Slipfang's spell had lashed him.

“Like a whip,” he heard the healer saying quietly to the others afterwards. “An enormous whip. It practically flayed him right open!”

“Will it scar?”

Kai couldn't hear Pomfrey's reply, it was too muted. He really wasn't worried about scarring at the moment; he was worried about Teddy, and the pain, and somewhere in the back of his mind, whether they were all going to be expelled.

“Some hero I turned out to be,” he thought. Cho would be disgusted with him.

It was some time later — he was just about to nod off — that he heard someone else in the room. Someone was moving around quietly, near Teddy's bed, and not saying anything. For a moment, Kai thought fearfully that perhaps Slipfang had returned.

“Who's there?” he called out. “Madam Pomfrey?”

“What it is it, Mr. Chang?” Pomfrey replied calmly, from across the infirmary, and he heard her footsteps coming across the ward, but someone else leaned around the curtain to look at him. Kai gasped as he recognized Harry Potter.

“Mr. Potter! I'm sorry, I... I didn't know it was you!”

Potter smiled slightly. Pomfrey appeared next to Kai, and peeled back the light robe she'd conjured around him after treating him earlier, to check the livid red wound across his bare chest and stomach. Kai was now too numb to be embarrassed. Potter's smile disappeared, and he looked grim when he saw how Kai had been magically whipped.

“I can't make it stop hurting entirely,” Pomfrey said gently. “But I can give you something to help you sleep, if you like.”

He shook his head. “That's all right, ma'am.” Actually, it did hurt a lot, and he would have liked something to help him sleep, but he wasn't going to admit that in front of the greatest hero of the wizarding world.

She dabbed a little more of that oil onto a fingertip, and rubbed it along his wound. As before, the touch hurt at first, but then the oil numbed the pain and Kai relaxed slightly.

“Call me if you need anything, Mr. Chang.” She gave him an odd look, and added, “If you're hungry, I daresay we might be able to talk some house-elves into making you some hot soup, despite their 'vacation.'” Kai flushed.

Potter was still standing there, with a small smile back on his face.

“Teddy's sleeping,” he said. Kai realized suddenly that Mr. Potter didn't look very heroic, or larger than life at all. He looked like an ordinary, very worried man.

“Is he going to be all right?” Kai asked.

Potter nodded. “Madam Pomfrey says so, and I trust her.”

Kai nodded back, and looked up at the ceiling. “I'm really sorry, Mr. Potter. We shouldn't have let him do it. We should've just run away and found a teacher as soon as we saw that Slipfang was in the castle.”

“Yes,” said Potter. “You should have.” Kai swallowed, but Potter's voice didn't really sound recriminating. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

And so Kai told him, starting with their grand prank, turning much of Hogwarts castle pink (“I was wondering about that,” Potter chuckled), followed by Teddy's visit to the kitchens to give the house-elves the weekend off (“I'm going to enjoy telling Hermione how her suggestion played out,” he chuckled again), and finally, their sighting of Slipfang on the Marauder's Map. Potter didn't chuckle when Kai told him about how they'd decided to try to corner the goblin themselves. Kai hadn't really seen the end of that encounter, and how Teddy got hurt, as he'd been curled up in a ball feeling as if he'd just been split in half.

“We just thought, if it's only a goblin...” he finished, his voice trailing off.

“Yes, Roger Drocker and Jonathan Madscarf didn't think goblins were so dangerous either,” said Potter. “Wizards have a long history of underestimating goblins.”

“What's happening, Mr. Potter? Why are the goblins stealing our wands?”

Potter looked at Kai thoughtfully, then said, “I'll be back later, when Teddy has woken up. Maybe I'll tell you more then. Pomfrey's giving me the evil eye, so I think I'd better leave you to rest now.”

After Potter left, Kai closed his eyes, and soon, even without Madam Pomfrey's sleeping aid, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Dewey and Violet would have been camped outside the infirmary first thing the next morning, except that they were both woken up before dawn by their Prefects. First they were made to hand over their wands, and told that they had been put on wand restriction. Then they were brought to the kitchens. They found nearly two dozen other students there — every member of the D.A. who'd been part of the “pink protest” the day before, as well as Roger Drocker and Jonathan Madscarf, and all the other students currently serving detention for one infraction or another.

Professor Llewellyn was waiting for them too. A few house-elves were standing next to her, but the kitchens were otherwise surprisingly empty.

“The house-elves,” said the Headmistress, “have been given the weekend off, as I suppose some of you are aware.” She looked narrowly at all the first-years, who lowered their gazes. “Although quite a few of them are willing — eager, even — to return to duty, I see no reason why those who wish to should not be allowed to continue enjoying their... vacation.”

An elderly house-elf wearing on potholder on her head sniffed disdainfully.

“Therefore, you will all be preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards for the rest of the weekend,” said Llewellyn. “Freega and the other house-elves who've kindly volunteered their time will assist you as far as making sure you know where everything is and what to do, and Apparating dishes up to the tables above and back, but other than that, you will do all the work. And I remind you that there will be zero toleration for abuse of house-elves. Anything an elf tells you to do should be treated the same as if I or one of your professors told you to do it. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Professor,” everyone answered in unison.

Preparing breakfast for several hundred students and staff turned out to be a larger task than any of them could have imagined. Without their wands, it was pure physical labor, and none of them were used to it. Bernice muttered constantly about how sorry she was that she'd ever gotten involved with the D.A. Chloe alternated between being on the verge of tears and openly sobbing, as she burned her fingers on hot pans, and stumbled under the piles of dishes and sacks of flour and rice and sugar she had to carry. Violet was determined to endure this punishment without complaint, and so she said nothing, and ignored the snickers from the other students as she had to stand on the same step-stools the house-elves used to reach the preparation tables.

Mercy was almost cheerful, though. She went about the kitchen doing every task she could find to do. The first-years wound up mostly taking orders from Freega and from Drocker and Madscarf, who carried the heaviest pots and hauled sacks of potatoes and carrots and pumpkins out of the cellars.

It was hard, grueling work, and no sooner had they finished putting breakfast on the tables than dirty dishes started coming back. They were given a meager few minutes to have a bite to eat themselves, and then it was time to prepare for lunch. They got almost half an hour of rest after lunch, and then it was time to prepare dinner.

It was late in the evening by the time they were finally released from the kitchens, soaking in sweat and soot and grease. Dewey and Violet immediately walked upstairs to the Hospital Wing; there wasn't even any need to discuss it. They paused when they realized that most of the other first-years were following them.

“What are you doing?” Dewey asked.

“Aren't you going to see Teddy and Kai?” asked Mercy.

“Well, yes.” Dewey had to swallow past a lump in his throat, as he realized that every one of them had been waiting to see how their two friends were doing as well. Even Chloe, with tear tracks running down her dirty face, and her hair now plastered against her head, limp and lifeless, stood there resolutely with a stubborn expression.

Violet was surprised to see that even Bernice was following, rather than running back to the Slytherin dorms.

“All right, then,” Dewey said. “I doubt Madam Pomfrey's going to let us all in, though.”

And they proceeded to the Hospital Wing, where they found a very annoyed Madam Pomfrey blocking the door.

“I've been telling students all day, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Chang are both going to live, and I won't have half the school traipsing constantly in and out of the infirmary,” she said. “I have other patients here, including two who are contagious.”

The kids in the back parted as someone else came up behind them, and Madam Pomfrey's scowl softened a little.

“Mr. Potter,” she said, and everyone fell away as Harry Potter approached the door to the infirmary. “Mr. Lupin has been asking after you. I told him you said you'd be back.” Her tone was slightly accusing.

“And I am. I had to do some things outside the castle,” Potter replied. He looked down at Dewey and Violet, and put his hands on their shoulders. “May they come with me, please?” He spoke very deferentially to Madam Pomfrey, almost as if he were still a student. The healer frowned at him, and gave Dewey and Violet a disapproving look, and then sighed. “Well, I suppose so. But the rest of you, begone!” She made shooing motions with her hands. It didn't have much effect; the first-years all continued lingering outside in the corridor, but Madam Pomfrey stepped aside and let Potter lead Dewey and Violet inside.

“Harry!” Teddy said, as his godfather enter the infirmary. Dewey and Violet were both immeasurably relieved to hear his voice, but couldn't help noticing how faint it was.

Harry Potter leaned over Teddy's bed and hugged his godson, being very careful not to squeeze too hard. Teddy's arm was heavily bandaged, and under a light shirt, he had more bandages around his midsection. He was so relieved to see his godfather, he forgot about being embarrassed, until Harry stood up and he saw Dewey and Violet.

“Wotcha, guys,” he croaked.

“About time you came to visit,” said Kai, from the bed next to Teddy's.

“We would have come sooner...” Dewey protested.

“But we were busy paying for your stunt,” Violet finished for him.

“Don't worry,” Harry said, bemused. “As soon as these two are well enough to leave hospital, Professor Llewellyn has plans for them.” Teddy and Kai both managed to look a little bit paler.

Harry remained standing next to Teddy, and Dewey edged a little closer, to get a better look at the wounded Gryffindor. Violet walked around the foot of Teddy's bed, and took a seat on the chair between his bed and Kai's.

“You knew about the goblins, didn't you?” Teddy asked Harry.

“That depends on what you mean by 'knew',” Harry replied. “I knew that goblin unrest is growing and that goblins have been secretly acquiring wands by any means they can, yes. We suspected, but were not absolutely certain, that Slipfang was a goblin. And we knew that some of the chief agitators have been meeting in Hogsmeade.”

“Is that why you were there?” Teddy asked. “To set them straight and arrest the ringleaders?”

Harry frowned. “It's not that simple, Teddy. I can't just arrest the leaders of S.C.O.U.R.G.E., even if I could identify them. The Ministry is trying to placate the goblins through the Goblin Liaison Office. I was trying to impress upon them the need for diplomacy and good faith. Unfortunately, Mr. Drocker and Mr. Madscarf decided to sit down and have a few drinks with them before I could, and you know how that turned out.”

“So much for good faith,” Dewey muttered.

“That's not all you've been doing,” Teddy said shrewdly.

Harry looked at his godson, and smiled. “No,” he said. “It's not. Aurors have been watching the school since the wand-thefts began.”

“But that didn't keep Slipfang out, did it?”

Harry shook his head. “No. I still don't know how he's doing it.”

“We think he's using the secret tunnels,” Kai piped up.

Violet sighed. Did Kai think Professor Llewellyn, Harry Potter, and the entire Auror Office were all idiots? Of course they knew about the secret tunnels!

Harry smiled and shook his head. “We're pretty sure he's not. But I'm glad you took one thing I told you seriously, Teddy.”

“Huh?” Teddy asked, confused.

“The secret passages have been sealed, warded, and booby-trapped,” said Harry. “All of them. Even the two Unplottable ones that don't show up on the Marauder's Map. If you had tried to use any of them, against my orders, well, I'd have heard about it. We're quite certain that's not how Slipfang is getting in and out.”

“He could be Apparating,” said Teddy.

Violet sighed again. This time Dewey spoke up. “Apparition on the grounds of Hogwarts is impossible. Not even You-Know-Who was able to do that.”

“House-elves can,” Teddy said.

Harry nodded. “House-elves are different. They have their own magic, which isn't the same as ours.”

“Then maybe goblins can too,” Kai suggested.

“We thought of that,” Harry said. Violet was sure he had, but Mr. Potter was patient, and seemed quite content to let Teddy and his friends try to solve the case that he hadn't been able to. “We may not know as much as we should about goblins, but we know they need wands to do magic, just like we do. It's not likely they can Apparate where wizards can't.”

“So what are you going to do next?” Teddy asked.

“Next,” said Harry, “I'm going to have a chat with Neville and a few of my old professors, and make sure that you will not be doing any more skulking about the castle trying to do an Auror's job.” Teddy flushed.

“What all of you did was very foolish,” Harry continued, lowering his voice. He looked at Teddy very seriously, and for a moment, his voice was thick with emotion. “You could have died, Teddy. Kai could have too, and so could either of you two.” He looked at Teddy and Violet. “I would rather see all of you expelled than see you do something that foolish again. And do not,” he added, holding up a finger before Teddy could say anything, “throw my exploits back at me. Do you know what a hero is? It's someone lucky enough to survive doing something stupid. A lot of what I did really was luck. No one ever believes me when I tell them that.” He sighed.

All four of them listened quietly, and said nothing when Harry was finished. He looked around, and said, “I imagine Madam Pomfrey will be kicking the two of you out shortly, but I'll let you have some time together.” He leaned forward, and to Teddy's embarrassment, gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I'll be in touch, Teddy. I'll see you when you come home for Easter, if you haven't managed to get yourself expelled before then.” He smiled at Teddy's friends. “It was good to see you again, Violet and Kai, and nice to meet you, Dewey. Although technically, we've met before. You were just too young to remember.” His gaze lingered on Dewey for a moment, and Dewey nodded. Now was not the time to ask him questions about his brother, though he was sure that Mr. Potter was also thinking about Cedric right now.

Then the Head Auror turned and departed from the infirmary, leaving the four friends alone, except for Madam Pomfrey in her office, and the two sick Ravenclaws, who were at the other end of the room in their own isolated mini-ward.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments, then Dewey asked, “How are you two feeling?”

“Okay,” Teddy lied.

“I'm in unimaginable pain, actually,” said Kai. “But I'm holding up bravely.”

Dewey stared at him, and then almost burst out laughing, covering his mouth just in time and looking over his shoulder in the direction of Pomfrey's office. Violet just glared at him. She didn't think it was funny at all.

“Git,” Dewey said. “Really, though.”

Kai shrugged, then winced. “Yeah, hurts a little. But not as bad as Teddy.”

“Doesn't actually hurt that much,” said Teddy. “Except when I move. Or swallow. Or breathe.” When Dewey and Violet were silent after that, he asked, “So, got any good news?”

“Well, I suppose your liberation of the house-elves was a success, since we're now doing all their chores this weekend,” said Dewey. “Don't know if it will have any lasting effects, though.”

“How about the game?” Teddy asked. “Any good news there?”

Dewey coughed. “Umm, good news for who, mate?”

“Gryffindor, of course!”

Dewey grinned. “Sorry.”

“You're kidding me!”

“250 to 100,” Dewey said cheerfully. “Heard all about it afterwards. We were even up at a hundred points each, and then Cordelia caught the snitch. Just before the teachers all went running back to the castle. Hufflepuff's in the lead now.”

Teddy sighed.

“That's enough chatter,” said Madam Pomfrey, striding over to check on her two wounded patients. “Mr. Diggory and Miss Parkinson, you can come back and visit your friends tomorrow, though I think Mr. Chang will be ready to leave. Not you, though, Mr. Lupin. You're going to be here for a while longer.”

“I'll need you to lead me back to Ravenclaw Tower,” Kai grumbled. “I don't know how I'm going to read any of the boards without my glasses.”

“Oh,” Violet said quietly, and she stood up and took Kai's glasses out of her pocket. She handed them to him. He wore an expression of surprise, as his fingers closed around the frames.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I couldn't quite remove all of the fractures.” Kai put them on, and saw there was still a fine spiderweb network of cracks throughout both lenses. He took them off and held his wand over them, and said, “Oculus reparo!” A few sparks flew from the lenses, and then they were as good as new. He smiled at Violet, who was expressionless as he put them back on.

“I've had a bit of practice with that one,” he said.

“I'm sure,” she replied dryly.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and her expression softened.

“That's very nice, now out, out!” said Madam Pomfrey. And Dewey and Violet said good night to Teddy and Kai, and went back downstairs. The first-years who'd been hovering outside the infirmary had finally been dispersed, but after seeing Harry Potter, gossip and rumors were rife. Their fellow students wanted to know everything, so even after Dewey and Violet returned to their houses, it was a long time before they were permitted to go to bed.

Kai was released by Madam Pomfrey the following day. He was the center of attention in the Ravenclaw common room, as he gave them his first-person account of his epic confrontation with Slipfang the goblin. Embellished versions were soon circulating around the school.

“I did not scream in terror!” Violet declared angrily that evening, as they were walking to the Hospital Wing to visit Teddy. “And I certainly didn't cower behind you!”

“I swear, I didn't add that part!” Kai insisted, holding his hands up in protest. “I can't help it if other people are making stuff up!”

“I suppose you didn't make up the part where he only defeated you after a lengthy duel either?” she asked acidly. “Or the part where you bravely struggled to regain your feet, despite your horrible injuries?”

“Well, I did try to get up!” Kai said.

“Let's not quarrel,” said Mercy, wiping sweat and grime from her face. She and Violet and all the other D.A. members had spent the entire day in the kitchens again. Now, once again, most of them were coming upstairs in the hopes of being allowed to see Teddy.

Dewey was walking alongside Kai, occasionally steadying him. Kai's wound was still causing him pain, and made him walk with a serious limp. Madam Pomfrey had offered the Ravenclaw crutches, which he'd refused.

“So what was your punishment?” asked Stephen. Kai had not had to work in the kitchens — by Pomfrey's orders, he was unsuited for any heavy activity for at least a week — but he had been summoned to Professor Flitwick's office as soon as he'd been released from the infirmary. Professor Flitwick had taken his wand away and told him he was on wand restriction, like everyone else, and that he would also be serving detention for several days.

“Library duty,” Kai said. “Working for Ms. Pince.”

“That's it?” demanded Colin. He was still sweating, even after they'd left the kitchens. “We have to spend all day in front of the ovens and cleaning dirty dishes and dodging flying knives, and you get to muck around in the library?”

Kai grimaced. “Mate, I'd happily trade places with you. You have no idea what a harpy Ms. Pince is!”

They arrived at the infirmary, to once more find Madam Pomfrey blocking the door.

“I told you last night, I wouldn't have dozens of children traipsing in and out of my hospital,” she said, to the first-years crowding the hallway. “Mr. Lupin may have one visitor at a time!”

Everyone looked at each other. “Guess we should let someone who didn't see him last night go first,” Dewey said. Chloe and Deana looked hopeful, and then Madam Pomfrey said, “He already has a visitor. The rest of you just wait. And if you make noise or block the hallway, I'll make you all go away.”

Nonplussed, the D.A. members lingered outside the infirmary, until several minutes later, Nagaeena emerged. Everyone stared at her in surprise. Nagaeena looked very pleased with herself as she regarded her classmates.

“I suppose it was all for the best that you didn't want me to be part of your little pink protest, Violet,” she said. “Someone had to keep Teddy company while you were all down in the kitchens doing... elf-work.” She wrinkled her nose, and then sauntered down the corridor, favoring Chloe and Deana with a particularly smug look.

“Hi, Nagaeena,” said Gilbert, as she slid past. The Slytherin girl curled her lip and hurried away.

“You don't think Teddy actually likes her, do you?” said Kai aloud, and then winced as both Dewey and Violet elbowed him.

“I'm still injured, you know!” he complained.

“Yes, you remind us constantly,” Violet replied.

Madam Pomfrey relented and allowed them to come in to see Teddy in twos and threes, but only just long enough to say hello, and then she shooed them out again. Teddy was happy to see his friends, and touched that most of the first-year class came to visit. Even some older students, mostly Gryffindors but not exclusively, had stopped by during the day, he told them.

He was still awfully pale, and he didn't move much in his hospital bed. His arm was encased in thick white bandages, and when Madam Pomfrey came by every few minutes to fuss over him, there was genuine concern on her face, not just the usual exasperation at a student who'd managed to get himself hurt. She also made Kai undress so she could check his wounds — behind a curtain, thankfully.

As Kai and Violet and Dewey left the Hospital Wing with Mercy, Violet glanced at Kai again. He moved gingerly, and while he wasn't above hamming it up, she didn't think he was just playing for sympathy.

“Does it really hurt a lot?” Mercy asked. Violet was grateful that the Hufflepuff girl had asked the question instead of her.

Kai paused, as Dewey looked at him too.

“Not as much,” he said. “Madam Pomfrey gave me some oil to use.”

In fact, it was hurting a lot, and more with every step. Kai couldn't wait to get back to Ravenclaw Tower and climb into bed. The angry red welt running up the entire front of his body still felt exactly like a long blow from a lash. But when he saw his friends looking at him with concern, he grinned.

“She used some charms and thinks it probably won't scar,” he reassured them. “Almost a shame, really.” He held a fingertip just over the red welt going up the side of his face. “Once it heals, a nice scar would make me look rather dashing, don't you think?”

“No,” said Violet. She went down the stairs without looking back. Dewey and Mercy looked at each other, shrugged at Kai, and followed Violet downstairs.

All of the house-elves returned to duty on Monday. Many students had discovered over the weekend that dirty laundry didn't clean itself, trash didn't pick itself up, and beds didn't make themselves. They also discovered that the house-elves were much better cooks than students serving detention.

Detention ended after that for the D.A. members who had been involved in the “pink protest.” Rather to their surprise, much of the castle remained pink. Teachers whose classrooms and office doors had been transformed restored them to their normal colors, but it was left to students to fix everything else. Every house soon banished pink from the areas around their common room entrances, but there were still plenty of hallways, washrooms, classrooms, windows, paintings, and furniture that remained pink.

A week later, Teddy was finally released from the hospital. He was on strict orders not to exert himself.

“Goblin iron,” Madam Pomfrey muttered. “I thought those stories about weapons made by goblins to fight wizards were just legend. I've never actually seen wounds inflicted by a goblin blade before. Normally I'd have you almost completely healed by now, Mr. Lupin, but your wounds are resistant to magical healing. You'll have to do the rest of your healing on your own.”

He soon found out that being convalescent didn't mean he was excused from the punishment that had been imposed on the other D.A. members. In fact, being the ringleader, the one who had impersonated a member of the staff to deceive the house-elves, and the one who had led his friends into an almost fatal misadventure, Teddy was informed that he would be on wand restriction, and serving detention, until every corner of the castle was restored to its normal color. So he spent several weeks limping up and down the corridors, trying to undo everything his fellow D.A. members had done. Unfortunately, he found he was also undoing new transformations. When word got around that Teddy's detention wouldn't end until he'd “unpinked” the entire castle, some older Slytherins took to turning everything in sight pink whenever a teacher wasn't looking. For variety, they also began turning doors and windows and banisters green and silver. Teddy's task became Sisyphean, and it was made worse by the fact that magic seemed more difficult now, while he was recuperating. In class, his charms and transfigurations suffered, and after class, undoing the Color Change Charms seemed to get more difficult every night.

Professor Longbottom was unsympathetic.

“It was your clever idea, Mr. Lupin,” he said mildly one evening, when Teddy came to his office to turn over his wand until the next day, and complained about having to go into all the girls' loos for the third time that week. “I thought you wanted other students to join your protest.”

Teddy glowered. “I didn't mean for them to continue it over and over, just for laughs!”

Longbottom smiled slightly. “So you're discovering that clever ideas can have unintended consequences, and plans can backfire. That's a good lesson to learn. Over and over, if need be.”

The Daily Prophet had not seen fit to print anything about Slipfang's attack. Teddy supposed Headmistress Llewellyn and Harry probably had had something to do with that. He didn't know whether it was to protect him, or to protect the Goblin Liaison Office's “diplomatic efforts.” Letters had gone home to parents, however, so while goblins might not be making the front pages of the newspaper, Teddy knew they were being discussed by the entire wizarding community. Some kids were worried that their parents might pull them out of school. Violet's mother was threatening this very thing, in her almost daily letters which warned Violet to stay away from Teddy.

Whereas before students had been paranoid about other houses, now they were paranoid about invisible goblins. Everyone was again walking in groups or pairs, and every student who could afford one owned a Sneakoscope or Dark Sensor, even though Professor Rai pointed out repeatedly that goblins were not Dark creatures, and therefore Dark Sensors would do no good in detecting them.

Another result of the goblin troubles was that for perhaps the first time since he started teaching, students were actually paying attention in Professor Binns's class. At least when he talked about goblin riots and goblin rebellions.

Unfortunately, it was still difficult to extract anything interesting or useful out of the ghostly professor's lectures. This led to something else almost unprecedented: students were asking him questions.

Most teachers were pleased when students were so interested in their class that they asked questions about the material. Professor Binns, however, seemed to regard students as an extraneous part of his classroom environment. Being such a creature of habit that even death hadn't altered his routine, the constant barrage of questions was vexing to the poor ghost. He started pretending not to notice raised hands for as long as he possibly could, keeping his back to the class as he faced the board and wrote down endless lists of names and dates.

One day, however, he was forced to acknowledge Kai, who had kept his hand raised for nearly ten minutes, leaning against his desk and propping up his extended arm with his other hand, while Binns pointedly kept his attention focused on the board or the other side of the classroom. Finally, the ghost could ignore him no longer, and said, with a note of dry exasperation, “Mr. Chang? You have a question about the Great Goblin Massacre of 1460?” He was obviously ready to cut off any questions or discussion that did not immediately relate to the subject of his lecture.

“Yes, Professor,” said Kai. “I was just wondering, since you said sixty-three wizards died and over two hundred goblins were killed afterwards, who exactly was massacred?”

Binns blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Well, it's the Great Goblin Massacre. But is that meant to mean that goblins were doing the massacring, or being massacred?” Kai asked.

Binns blinked again. “I don't see how that question is relevant, Mr. Chang,” he said peevishly. “The Great Goblin Massacre is what this event is called. Now, turning to the immediate aftereffects of the incident, in which the Wizards' Council — ”

“Well, it might matter to the goblins,” Kai said.

Binns paused. All the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws watched him. Interrupting a teacher was a serious breach of classroom etiquette, but Professor Binns rarely, if ever, took enough notice of students to dock anyone points.

“We are concerned with historical facts, Mr. Chang, not with what various parties might think about them,” he said gravely.

Kai frowned. Binns seemed to be relieved, and started to turn back to his board, when Teddy raised his hand. The ghost paused, sighed, and very begrudgingly said, “Mr. Lupin?”

“Sir, what caused the massacre?”

Binns looked annoyed. “I already explained that, Mr. Lupin. Following failed attempts to relocate the magical populations of the West Midlands to a less Muggle-populated area during —”

“Wasn't it mostly about wands?” Teddy asked.

Now Binns actually looked as if he might lose his patience. “It was about many things, Mr. Lupin! Goblin wand-crafting and infant abductions and trade in Dark artifacts and large debts owed by several prominent wizarding families to the goblins, all of which I have detailed previously, if you were taking notes during my class.”

Neither Kai nor Teddy bothered Binns again that day, but it was Edgar who dragged what would prove to be the most ominous warning out of the Professor of Magical History. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were nearly falling asleep despite themselves, as Binns droned on about the failed 1833 Council on Accordance Between Wizards and Magical Beings.

Dewey noticed that Edgar seemed rather exercised about something. He kept raising his hand, whenever Professor Binns started to turn away from the board. Binns would then hastily turn quickly back to the board, and Edgar would lower his hand. A few minutes later, the ghost would start turning back around to address the class, Edgar's hand would shoot up, and Binns would turn back to point at something he'd written, continuing to talk with his back to them. It was a comical contest between the student trying to catch the professor's attention, and the professor who very much didn't want to have his attention caught.

Finally, Mercy grabbed Edgar's hand and dragged his arm back down, as Binns started to turn towards them again. The ghost paused, saw out of the corner of his eye that Edgar seemed to have given up, and turned all the way around to face the class, as his monologue on the administrative role of the newly-formed Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures continued uninterrupted.

Mercy shot her hand up.

Binns paused, mid-sentence, looked pained, and reluctantly acknowledged her. “Miss Burbage?”

Mercy elbowed Edgar, who blinked, startled, glanced at Mercy, and then stammered, “Oh! Right. Umm, Professor Binns, sir, why do wizards forbid goblins to have wands?”

Binns gave the two Hufflepuffs a sour look. Then he tugged slowly on his beard, and sighed.

“Because, Mr. Hargrave, they might use them against us.”

“Dumb question!” muttered Anthony, and the Slytherins around him snickered in agreement.

“But, sir,” Edgar said, flushing a little, but stuck on something that he had been turning over in his head. “Don't wizards use wands against them?”

“Only when necessary,” the ghost replied. “Those who do so unnecessarily are a matter for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

“Didn't Volde — err, You-Know-Who and his followers kill an awful lot of goblins too?” Edgar asked.

Binns blinked slowly. “That was a dark period in wizarding history,” he said at last. “You cannot consider the Dark Lord's regime to be a proper example of wizarding governance.”

Dewey slowly raised his hand. Professor Binns now looked almost agitated. Why were these children determined to ask questions when he was trying to teach them?

“Mr. Diggory?” he grumbled.

“Professor, wasn't the Great Goblin Massacre an example of improper governance too?”

“Goblins were not innocent victims in that incident, Mr. Diggory!” Binns scowled.

“No, sir,” said Dewey. “But if goblins and wizards both tend to act badly towards each other, it isn't really surprising that they want to have wands too, is it?”

Everyone was staring at him now.

“Are you completely stark raving mad?” demanded Nero. “It was you and your friends who nearly got killed by a goblin with a wand!” He looked at Violet, who did not react, but was privately agreeing with Nero.

“What?” Binns snapped. “What are you talking about, Mr. Velenos? And stop speaking out of turn!”

Nero looked a bit confused, as he tried to work out whether he was supposed to answer Professor Binns or keep quiet.

“Slipfang might be a nutter,” said Dewey, “but aren't we kind of being, well, unfair, to tell goblins only we can have wands? It isn't as if wizards have behaved any better historically than they have.”

Professor Binns looked amazed, as his first-year class began arguing right in front of him.

“SILENCE!” he bellowed, and everyone fell silent immediately. No one had ever heard Professor Binns raise his voice before. They all turned around and stared at the ghost in shock.

“Goblins,” he said at last, “are dangerous, wily, cunning creatures, tactically ingenuous and utterly ruthless, especially against superior opposition. I have extensive knowledge of goblin habits and their ways of war. Goblins were my academic specialty.” He sniffed. “Not that I expect any of you ever bother to read the Journal of Magical Creature Research or the British Journal of Goblin Studies.”

Everyone was still staring at him, now more in shock that he'd actually deviated from his lecture.

Professor Binns looked around the room. There was curiosity and interest in their gazes, and it was enough to blow a little life into the cold embers of his academic's soul.

“Wizards learned the hard way that goblin aggression must be dealt with quickly and severely,” he said. “They do not respect the same treaties and conventions that we do. They have no mercy for their opponents, and expect none to be shown to them. They strike swiftly and savagely, and by surprise whenever possible.”

“We learned that, all right,” Dewey muttered, but Binns either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

“There's a reason you almost never see goblin women and children,” the teacher went on. “They stay safely out of sight.”

“You mean they'd kill women and children?” asked Anthony.

“Certainly,” said Binns. “An enemy is an enemy. That's the origin of the old tales of goblin baby-stealing. They have been known to abduct infants, but anyone older is simply an enemy. Even children your age would be shown no mercy in war. Goblins don't recognize the concept of non-combatants.”

“Neither did Voldemort,” Violet muttered. All the Slytherins near her gasped, as she spoke the Dark Lord's name aloud, but she kept her eyes focused straight ahead. Binns himself looked stricken for a moment, and regarded Violet severely.

“The Dark Lord was an aberration,” he repeated sternly. “Now, that is quite enough about unrelated topics! We will return to the 1835 Reassembled Council of Magical Accordance, which suffered from the same internal conflicts as the previous council...”

Dewey looked around. No one was paying attention to Binns anymore. The Slytherins were all still looking at Dewey like he was mad, the Hufflepuffs were uneasy, Violet seemed deep in thought, Edgar still looked bothered, and Mercy was solemn. Sung-Hee was whispering to her.

Dewey thought about Edgar's question, and Binns's response. Did wizards deal with goblins so harshly because goblins were so violent, or was it the other way around? One thing was certain: he didn't want himself or his friends to ever face Slipfang again.

Teddy was tired of Color Change Charms. He could do them in his sleep, now. Yet no matter how many nights he spent fixing pink doors and pink floors and pink rooms, there were always more. How had twelve firsties managed to turn so much of the castle pink? They hadn't, of course. Slytherins were still prolonging Teddy's detention, deliberately, just because they thought it was funny. Teddy suspected Roger Drocker and his friends were doing it too.

One Friday evening, he began his usual detention following dinner. There was no need for him to check in with Longbottom or Filch; he just started going through corridors, one by one, until bedtime.

There was a rigidly enforced curfew now. The staff had been patrolling the corridors every night since the attack, and an adult was always within shouting distance. Students were forbidden to venture into areas of the castle that weren't being patrolled.

Teddy was getting stronger. His limp was less pronounced now, though his side still hurt if he bent or twisted the wrong way. He went to see Madam Pomfrey every evening, who was optimistic that the cut down his arm would leave only a faint scar.

Even if it did leave a scar, Teddy thought, he could always make it disappear.

He was much more concerned about the lingering effects of his encounter with Slipfang that couldn't be seen. He didn't want to admit it, but he was jumpy whenever he walked down a hallway by himself. Sometimes he had to force himself to go into a lavatory or classroom alone. He would stare at shadows and dark corners, imagining invisible watchers standing there. He found himself checking the Marauder's Map almost compulsively.

This Friday, though, Teddy found no pink, green, or silver transformations anywhere on the first floor. He climbed the stairs to the second floor, and found it similarly free of colored doors, floors, or walls.

By the time he reached the fourth floor, he was baffled. There were areas he hadn't even reached yet that he knew some of the other D.A. members had turned pink, but there was no sign of their work now.

He'd spent most of the evening searching for pink charms to undo, when he finally reached the seventh floor, and found Kai, Dewey, and Violet slouched on one of the benches outside the Headmistress's office. Kai blinked, yawned, and sat up, and the other two did as well.

“Bloody hell, what took you so long?” Kai demanded in an accusing tone.

“What are you talking about?” Teddy asked.

“We thought when you found we'd done all your work for you, you might check the map and figure out we were waiting for you up here,” said Dewey.

Teddy had been checking the Marauder's Map — but he'd been looking for Slipfang, not for his friends. He stared at them. “You cleaned up the entire castle?” he asked disbelievingly.

“Well, not just us three,” said Dewey. “The D.A. helped.” He gestured down the corridor, in the direction of the Room of Requirement. “They're in the room, now, celebrating getting our wands back. Almost time for us all to get back to our houses, though.”

Teddy was stunned speechless. Kai grinned and Dewey smiled, and even Violet looked amused.

“I told Ophilia that if Thickwaite and Madscarf and those other prats keep painting public areas, that they just might find out that a lot of first-years are better than them at Color Change Charms now,” Violet said.

“They might find everything they own turning pink and being hard to change back,” Kai smirked.

“I think Ophilia will talk to them,” Violet said. “And Hugh. He still owes Dewey.” Dewey looked embarrassed.

Teddy shook his head. “You guys...” He swallowed. “Thanks. I thought I was going to be restoring the castle to its original color forever.”

“Come on and thank the others, then,” said Dewey, and he led Teddy to the Room of Requirement.

Most of the D.A. was there, even the McCormacks. And Teddy saw that there were a few older students as well. Sabrina Collins and James Warwick from Gryffindor, Tom Evans from Hufflepuff, and Kim Flynn from Ravenclaw, all second and third-years. And looking rather self-conscious, as the oldest one present, Guy Blake — the Ravenclaw fifth-year who'd almost been expelled for smuggling a Muggle firearm into his room.

“We hadn't decided on letting older kids join yet!” Teddy whispered.

There was an uncomfortable pause, and then Dewey said, “We decided, mate.”

“They helped us tonight,” said Violet.

“Even Blake,” Kai agreed.

For a moment, Teddy was indignant. They shouldn't have done that without asking him! The five “leaders” hadn't really had time to talk about it, though the subject had come up a time or two. They were all concerned about what would happen if older students joined the D.A. It was bound to change things; older kids would have their own ideas, and might not take the firsties seriously. The camaraderie the young D.A. members had enjoyed would be affected by having senior students being part of their club.

He started to open his mouth to protest, and then stopped, as he saw his friends, all of the D.A. members, watching him. He had been starting to think of himself as the one in charge. He knew a lot of the others saw him that way too.

No one owns the D.A.

He looked around, and relaxed slightly.

“Thanks,” he said. “To all of you.” And he sighed. “I was sure getting tired of pink toilets.”

Everyone laughed. Dewey, Kai, and Mercy looked relieved. Violet just smiled slightly, and nodded.

It was almost time for curfew, but Teddy discovered that the D.A. had also come up with a new idea for a protest.

“If you want to convince everyone that Muggle stuff isn't rubbish, find things that are interesting and flood the school with Muggle artifacts,” said Guy Blake.

“I assume by interesting, you don't mean lethally dangerous?” Kai asked. Guy flushed and glared at the younger Ravenclaw.

“We're thinking Muggle toys,” Edgar said.

“And magazines,” said Chloe.

“We've heard about those Muggle magazines!” snorted Colin.

Chloe turned red. “Not like what Roger had!” she sputtered, and added with a touch of indignation, “Most Muggle magazines are much more interesting! You can learn about fashion and makeup and music and food and dating tips.”

“I thought you said interesting,” Anthony said, covering his mouth with an exaggerated yawn.

“We can also put up movie posters, and hand out books and junk food!” said Gilbert.

“What now?” Teddy asked. “Muggles don't really eat junk, do they?”

“I still think it sounds lame,” scoffed Anthony.

“I would like to see what this Godzilla monster looks like, though,” said Nero.

“I asked Professor Peasegood,” Mercy said, ignoring the Slytherins. “The Ministry requires a license to own certain categories of 'Muggle technology,' but the regulations are very vaguely-worded. So the Headmistress is erring on the side of caution and forbidding anything that anyone in the Ministry could possibly frown on.”

“But that means pretty much anything Muggle-like,” said Edgar.

“So you want to do what, exactly?” asked Teddy.

“The Easter holidays are in a couple of weeks, and most of us will be going back home,” said Gilbert. “Us Muggle-borns are going to bring back all the toys and magazines and Muggle snack food we can.”

“We think a lot of wizarding kids would be more interested in Muggle stuff if they saw how cool it is!” Edgar grinned, looking enthusiastic.

Most of the wizarding kids in the room looked dubious — except Nagaeena, who was busily paging through a colorful magazine that was full of pictures of clothes outfits one would never see in the wizarding world, and extraordinarily beautiful women with bright red, moist, shiny lips and impossibly long dark lashes and perfectly coiffed hair.

“Where did that — ?” And then he saw Chloe's smug expression. She looked up from the magazine she'd lent Nagaeena, caught Teddy's eye, and winked at him.

“We're still trying to figure out a way to show off electronic games and mobile phones and things,” said Gilbert. “Problem is, none of that will work here.”

“Plus gadgets like that are really bloody expensive,” added Edgar.

“But I'd love to get my hands on one,” said Guy eagerly. “Maybe I can figure out how to make one work with magic instead of electricity.”

Teddy nodded, beginning to feel cheerful for the first time since he'd had a knife stuck into him, weeks ago.

“Well, we have a few more weeks to plan, I reckon,” he said. And he grinned. Not even goblins were going to stop the D.A.!